Twitter Co-Tweets Feature in Testing, Will Let Users Co-Author A Tweet

The social networking and microblogging platform –Twitter is now testing a new feature called the CoTweets. This new feature is one that allows two account users to co-author a tweet while both can also be tagged in a single tweet. Twitter has confirmed that the new feature is already in testing and live for some users for a limited amount of time. The company started experimenting with the idea for this feature earlier in the year.

Twitter spokesperson Joseph J. Nuñez in a statement explains that “We’re continuing to explore new ways for people to collaborate on Twitter. We’re testing CoTweets for a limited time to learn how people and brands may use this feature to grow and reach new audiences, and strengthen their collaborations with other accounts.”

The company confirmed the feature via a tweet.  The company also confirmed that the new feature is available for selected accounts in the US, Canada, and Korea. A FAQ that discusses how it works and what it’s capable of was created by the company. 

According to the company, “A CoTweet is a co-authored Tweet that’s posted simultaneously to both authors’ profiles and their followers’ timelines. You’ll recognize a CoTweet when you see two authors’ profile pictures and usernames in the header. CoTweets help authors share the spotlight, unlock opportunities for engaging new audiences and enhance their established partnerships.”

It works “when two authors decide to CoTweet, the first step is to finalize the content they’d like to share. We recommend using Direct Messages to collaborate.” The company further explained that “Once the messaging is ready, one author creates the CoTweet and initiates an invite to the co-author. When the co-author accepts the CoTweet invitation, the CoTweet immediately posts to each author’s profile and both of their followers’ timelines.” Looking forward to trying it out, a user will have to do the following. “Open the Tweet composer. Add the co-authored messaging and tap the CoTweet icon. Select a co-author from your follower list and tap Send invite.”

Today, several Twitter users have taken to testing out the CoTweets feature. So far the reception is looking great. The experience can be explained as one that allows the main tweet author to invite someone else to be tagged in the tweet and discuss the contents over DM. However, the second account also has a simple task to perform and that is to approve the co-authored tweet. In the end, the resulting tweet shows it’s co-authored by two people, but replies appear to only be directed toward the main author of the tweet. There are some examples below, but you may need to visit the tweets directly, as Twitter’s embed feature hasn’t been updated to support CoTweets yet. Last year, Instagram rolled out a similar co-author feature on its service, and it’s reasonable to assume influencers and brands will be quick to jump on it.